For this layout, the title "Low Roar" was chosen to represent the dormant nature of underwater life and its forces. While tranquil at first sight, the layout intends to express a sense of ´danger´ and awe to the viewer, like a tiger out of sight in the dark jungle ready to jump at its prey at any moment.
Inspirations came from both a more classic approach to a nature aquarium style of layout, while having a stronger emphasis on detailed use of tiny roots often seen in more dioramic style. I wouldn´t personally call it a fusion, but more of personal take on a classic approach.
Creating the layout, lots of stone were placed before fixating larger pieces of wood in a natural ´sweeping´ motion going both down and up, creating an concave design to the layout. initially filter wat were pushed between gaps in the stone to help separate soil and cosmetic sand. Pieces of stone also had to be placed on top of the larger pieces of wood to avoid buoyancy in the beginning. Super glue was used to attach small pieces of roots to add detail, and a sense of 'age' along with aquatic mosses and ferns.
In the back, stems were placed in a purposefully chaotic order to show off color and create layers of wildness of beautiful aquatic plants.
The amount of plants used in this layout meant that trimming and maintenance had to be done on regular basis to avoid water flow to stagnate. To help slow down plant growth I used a very lean dosage of plant fertilizer, using only 2ml of Tropica Specialized a day for this 180L aquarium - this is evidently possible when used in conjunction with a nutrient rich substrate.
Overall I think the layout turned out very well. I was especially pleased with the balance between plants and layout material that ended up complimenting each other beautifully in my opinion.
The layout ranked 14th. place in medium category at 2020 EAPLC competition.
